CHAPTER 26: FIRST NIGHT AT SKOLLREND

FIA

The room they took me to was awful.

Small. Shabby. There was mold climbing up one corner of the wall like black fingers reaching for the ceiling. The furniture looked like it had been pulled from storage and dusted off just enough to not be completely filthy. A bed with a thin mattress. A dresser with one drawer that hung crooked. A single lamp that flickered when the omega turned it on.

I looked around and tried not to let my face show anything. Maybe this was Cian’s doing. Another punishment wrapped up in the illusion of freedom. Or maybe it was the omegas taking ’initiative’ again. Deciding on their own that I didn’t deserve anything better.

Either way, it didn’t matter. I could clean. I didn’t mind cleaning. I’d lived in worse.

I turned to the omega who’d brought me up. She was standing by the door, watching me with that same tired expression.

"Thank you," I said.

Her eyes narrowed. "You need a bath."

"I know."

"No. Now." She crossed her arms. "You need to get the grime and gunk off your skin so you don’t break out meeting the Grand Luna tomorrow."

I felt my shoulders tense. "I can do that myself."

"I was told to take care of you." Her voice was flat. Final. "I will not leave it to chance. Who knows what you will spin to the Alpha if I leave without getting the job done?"

The accusation hung there. Like I was some kind of manipulator who’d twist everything to make them look bad. Like I had any power here at all.

"Please get out," I said. I kept my voice level. "I can take care of myself."

She clapped her hands.

The sound was sharp. Loud. Before I could process what was happening, three more omegas came through the door. They moved fast. Coordinated. Like they’d planned this.

They grabbed me.

I tried to pull away but there were too many hands. Too many bodies pressing in. They yanked at my clothes. Pulled at the filthy shirt until it tore. Grabbed at my pants.

"Stop!" I twisted. Fought. "Get off me!"

"You think you’re special?" One of them hissed in my ear. "You think you can waltz in here and take what doesn’t belong to you?"

They stripped me. Ripped the clothes from my body until I was standing there in nothing. Exposed. Vulnerable.

Then they dragged me toward the bathroom.

I dug my heels in. Tried to resist. But they were stronger together. They shoved me through the doorway. One of them turned on the water. It sprayed from the showerhead, cold at first, then scalding hot.

"Who do you think you are?" Another omega grabbed my arm. Her nails dug into my skin. "You trapped him. You ruined everything."

"He was supposed to marry someone who mattered," the first omega said. The one who’d brought me up. She was the ringleader. I could see it in her eyes. The hatred there was personal. "Not some pathetic omega who had to lie to get what she wanted."

They called me names. Whore. Homewrecker. Desperate. The words came fast and vicious. Each one designed to cut.

I kept trying to get away. Kept fighting. But there were four of them and one of me and they were so angry.

Then one of them spit on me.

I felt the saliva hit my cheek. Felt it slide down toward my jaw. Hot and degrading and so full of contempt.

That caused something inside me snapped.

I saw red. Actual red. Like a film had dropped over my vision and all I could see was rage.

I bit down on the hand closest to my face. Bit hard enough to taste copper. The omega screamed and jerked back.

I kicked out. Caught another one in the stomach. She doubled over with a wheezing gasp.

Then I was moving.

They tried to gang up on me. Tried to use their numbers. But I’d grown up fighting. I had learned young that sometimes the only way to survive was to hit first and hit hard.

I dodged a grab. Drove my elbow into someone’s ribs. Heard the crack and the scream that followed.

Another one lunged. I sidestepped and shoved her into the wall. Her head hit the tile with a thud and she slid down.

The ringleader came at me last. The one who’d started this. The one with all that personal hatred burning in her eyes.

I grabbed her by the hair. Yanked her forward and drove my fist into her face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four.

Her nose broke. Blood sprayed across my knuckles. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. All the fear and humiliation and rage from the past day poured out through my fist.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

My hand was bleeding now. Slick with blood. I didn’t know if it was hers or mine or both.

The other omegas were watching. Frozen. Horrified. Like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Only then did I let go of the ringleader. She crumpled to the floor. Her face was a mess. Swollen and bleeding and barely recognizable.

I looked at the others. I made sure to make eye contact with each one.

"Just because the circumstances that brought me here are unsavory," I said, "does not give you the power to disrespect me."

My voice was steady. Cold. Nothing like I felt inside.

"I will fuck your shit up," I continued. "Do you understand?"

They nodded. Quick and terrified.

"Now get out." I gestured toward the door. "Because I can go all night."

They scrambled. Picked up their leader from the floor. She was conscious but barely. They half carried, half dragged her out.

I waited until they were gone. Until I heard their footsteps fade down the hallway.

Then I went to the door. Locked it. The mechanism was old and stuck but I forced it until I heard the click.

My hands were shaking now. The adrenaline was wearing off and reality was crashing back in.

I slid down the door. Sat on the floor with my back against the wood. And I burst into tears.

Not sad tears. These were tears of fear. The kind that came when you realized how badly things could have gone. How close you’d been to something worse.

I pressed my bleeding hand against my mouth and tried to muffle the sounds. I even tried to breathe through the panic clawing at my chest.

What had I done? I’d beaten them. Brutalized one of them. They’d go to Cian. They’d tell him lies. And then I’d be right back in that cell. Or dead. Or worse.

Maybe he wouldn’t even do any of that. But it would only solidify the idea that I was this horrid person.

I cried until my throat hurt. Until my eyes burned. Until there was nothing left.

Then I heard it.

A ringing sound. Faint but persistent. Coming from inside the room.

I stood, wiped my face with the back of my non-bleeding hand and proceeded to follow the sound.

It was coming from the bed.

I walked over. There was a nightgown laid out on the mattress. Simple. White. Clean. And next to it, partially hidden under a fold of fabric, was my phone.

My phone!

I picked it up. The screen was lit. The battery was full. My mind momentarily went back to Cian. I almost scoffed. There was no way he was that kind. But my train of thoughts went left when the phone vibrated again. Milo’s name flashed across the caller ID.

I looked at the notifications. Twenty messages. All from him. And now a call.

I scoffed. Actually scoffed. Because of course. Of course Milo would be the one trying to reach me. What did he have to say after helping Hazel ruin my entire life?

I still could not imagine it. How someone I loved and cared so much about could just do that to me. How I was so blind that I even let it happen.

The phone kept ringing and his name kept flashing.

I knew I should let it go to voicemail. I knew the best thing to do was ignore him like I’d been ignored when I needed help. Nothing good could come from picking it after all.

But my thumb moved before I could talk myself out of it.

I answered.

"What?" My voice came out rough. Harsh. Still thick from crying.

There was a pause. Then Milo’s voice came through. Tight with something I couldn’t quite read.

"How are you Fi?"

I laughed. The sound was ugly. "What do you care?"

"Fia." He said my name like it was honey. "I’ve been calling for hours. I was worried about you."

"Why?" I sat down on the bed. The nightgown crinkled under me. "Why would you be worried about me? You should have done what would happen when you decided that you would assist Hazel to ruin me. Because I’ve been locked in a cell. Without my phone. Without food. Without anything. So forgive me for missing your calls despite the fact that you called for hours."

There was another pause. It was longer this time.

"A cell?" His voice changed. Got quieter. "Goddess, I am so sorry."

"Do not be." I looked at my bleeding hand. At the bruises forming on my wrists where the omegas had grabbed me. At the mess I’d become. "Why feel guilty? At least the love of your life is not here. She was not locked up. No one was trying to make her sign a contract or actively trying to break her spirit. So yeah. If anything you should be elated."

"Fia." He sounded strained now. Almost desperate. "I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know that would happen."

"So what the fuck did you think would happen?"